Rhajat woke up to a quiet castle. Corrin wasn't beside her. And she didn't hear anything. She knew her family was planning something, but she was still a bit scared that her birthday was forgotten, and it would be another day alone. Rhajat growing up didn't have many friends, and her caretakers kept their distance. While this meant she could do her work with no trouble, this also meant no one was there to celebrate her birthday either.
As much as she hated to admit it, and she'd never tell anyone except maybe Corrin, she hated it so much. Growing up with lonely birthdays wasn't fun for most people. Not even her parents would show up. They were busy fighting a war, trying to keep her safe of course. But a child growing up without their parents was traumatizing, good intentions be damned.
The door creaked as a little girl pushed the door open. Suddenly there was more noise. The girl ran up to the bed and pulled on Rhajat's arm. Rhajat smiled at her. If there was one thing that always destroyed her bad moods, it was her children. Rhajat noticed that there was more noise coming from outside the door though. Rhajat was confused, then realized what happened. She sat up and leaned downward to pick up her daughter, and sat her on her lap.
"Did you hex that door?" She asked.
"Yeah!" Ann answered energetically "So you wouldn't hear everything we were doing!"
Kanna, or Ann for short, was a mystery. Corrin didn't birth her like she did Kana. She found her drifting from the sea at a young age. She already had the name Kanna, as that's what she called herself. It didn't feel right to change it. They had no idea how she got there, but they knew it wasn't for a good reason. To distinguish them, they called her "Ann." Leo has theorized that she's another version of Kana from another world. It would explain the similarity in their appearances, not to mention that she, just like her adoptive brother, could turn into a dragon. The important thing was that she was here now, and she was a part of the family.
Rhajat smirked. "You're learning. Good thing you cursed the door and not me. I would have been angry and proud at the same time. But now I'm just proud."
Ann grinned even wider than her Mother's smirk. She jumped out of her lap and pulled on her arm again. "Come on!"
Rhajat smiled more genuinely. "Okay, sure."
Kanna started running, and Rhajat, a bit exasperated, spoke up. "Slow down, there's no rush."
"Sorry, I'm just really excited!" Kanna admits.
Rhajat smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm. "Don't worry. I am too." Rhajat lifted Kana up. "We can go together." Energy like that usually wore Rhajat out, but in her daughter it was the opposite.
Rhajat walked down the spiral staircase, as she wondered what her family had cooked up for her. The smell of breakfast attacked her senses, which was a given. Cooking for someone on their birthday was pretty common from her understanding. She reached the bottom, and ended up in a living room. The Kitchen was a short walk from there. What she didn't expect was how much there was. There were a bunch of sweets as well as vegetables on a long table. It looked like a buffet. There were black chandeliers above them, and black balloons tied up to various chairs. Rhajat was happy they seemed to remember that she wasn't fond of meat, especially when it was overly greasy. She wasn't a vegetarian or anything, she just felt it was too fatty for her.
Corrin stood up from her chair and walked towards her. She kissed her on her lips. "Happy Birthday!"
"Thank you." Rhajat said happily.
"You can sit next to me." Corrin patted the chair on her left. "I got help from the servants, they were all very excited to pitch in."
"Is that so?" Rhajat asked, a bit surprised.
"They love their queen." Corrin reassured. "I helped out a lot too. As well as Kana and Ann."
"I'm happy to hear that." It always made her happy to feel like she was loved and appreciated. "Where's Kana?"
"Getting the presents ready." Corrin answered. "He should be here soon. We'll give them to you after breakfast."
Rhajat nodded. "Sounds good. It sounds like you've all been working your butts off."
Ann beamed. "We sure have!" She jumped in excitement.
Kana walked into the room with a smile on his face. "Everything's ready on my end! Can we eat now?"
"Yes, let's dig in! Take a seat, Kana!" Corrin exclaimed.
In response, Kana jumped into a seat, clearly hungry and ready. Corrin could only giggle at her son's antics. "Be careful. I wouldn't want you getting hurt."
The four were sitting next to each other, but there was one last thing to do now that they were all together. They had begun to sing happy birthday. Rhajat tried to suppress a smile. All 3 of them were just so cute to her. She was actually a bit sad the song was so short, she'd love to hear them sing more.
"Do we have any plans for today?" She asked.
"We're gonna go visit Grandpa and Grandma in the wind tribe!" Kana said.
"Hm, hopefully Father hasn't gotten the entire town to greet me…" Rhajat mused.
"I don't think so!" Ann interjected. "Grandpa should know better than that!"
"I agree, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just enjoy your meal." Corrin suggested.
"Hm… if you say so Corrin." Rhajat took a bite of her food, and her face immediately lit up. "It's delicious!"
"I knew you'd like it!" Ann said elated. She was the first to finish, so she walked to her brother and whispered in his ear. He got down from his chair and followed her.
"They must be off to get the presents." Corrin theorized.
Rhajat looked towards Corrin with a look of curiosity on her face. "I wonder what you guys got for me." She started getting a bit excited. Her voice rose in both pitch and volume. "My life is already perfect. I'm married to the love of my life, my soulmate! I have two beautiful children with her too!" Rhajat exhaled to calm herself down. "There's not really anything I wanted."
Corrin at this point was used to her wife's passion, and she couldn't say she felt differently. She just was a bit better at expressing it. "That's what made it hard. You never ask for much. But I think you'll like what we've got for you."
The children returned holding something behind their backs. Kana went first, and presented a new book of hexes. "You're always talking about how you like a challenge! And you're probably used to your current books!"
Rhajat gently took it from him, and opened it up. She started giggling creepily. "This should be interesting."
Ann gave her a box, and it was filled with hexing tools she might need for later. "I looked through the book and found common things you'd need! I couldn't get everything though… I'm sorry."
"Of course. I can't expect that. But you two have made my life so much easier. Thank you." She stood up and reached down to hug her kids, who happily hugged her back. She gave them a small kiss on both of their foreheads.
"Alright, my turn." Corrin gave her another book, and Rhajat started looking through it. Instead of more hexes, it was a collection of drawings, some from the kids, others from more experienced painters. "It was hard to put together, but it was worth it. I don't mind adding to it as the kids draw more."
"I got help from Shigure!" Kana explained proudly.
Rhajat smiled at them, and kissed her wife on her lips. "This is amazing. All 3 of you are incredible."
The kids blushed while smiling, as did Corrin. "I'm glad you liked everything!"
"I'm gonna go upstairs and read through some of these." Rhajat informed them.
Ann pouted a bit, knowing how easy it was for Rhajat to get invested in her work and lose track of time. "Remember we're gonna go see Grandpa!" Ann adored her grandfather, and didn't want to miss seeing him.
"I won't be too long, don't worry." Rhajat left the three and walked back upstairs to her room. She closed the door, and Rhajat started looking through them. She started with Corrin's present. She smiled looking at some of their past experiences. There was a painting of the day Kana was born, as well as the day Ann was found. There were some for every birthday they had. Kana and Ann had drawings of all of them as a family. Rhajat couldn't help but smile happily. It was a nice reminder that she was no longer alone.
The tribe was the same as always. It was a windy desert, as they've come to know. Rhajat did miss it from time to time, so it was nice to make a visit. Hayato and Rinkah both greeted them. Rinkah was the first to speak. "I'm happy to see you all doing well."
Hayato gives Rhajat a hug, and Rhajat, while embarrassed, hugged him back. "I've got a gift for you, I'll be right back." Hayato ran off to get the present. Corrin wondered why he didn't just bring it with him.
Rinkah interrupted her train of thought. "He's been really excited to see you again. He's been talking about it a lot."
Rhajat rolled her eyes but still had a smile on her face. "He's still so childish."
"I think he'll always be like that. But it's part of his charm. Plus, you know you wouldn't accept him any other way." Rinkah pointed out.
Rinkah felt two weights on her legs, being Kana and Ann. She patted their heads. "I'm happy to see you guys too."
Hayato returned with a tiara in his hand. Rhajat tilted her head in confusion. It didn't even look like her style. It was bright and gold. "What is this?" She wasn't ungrateful, she just didn't understand what he was doing.
Hayato had a bit of a solemn look on his face. "Well… you didn't get to enjoy a childhood with me like you deserved. A lot of girls love being their dad's princess at some point. I know it's too late for us, but I still want you to have it. So you know how important you are to me."
Rhajat looked at it, and smirked. "I'm impressed you put that much thought into it. Not bad." She gave him a big hug. "Thank you. I'm still not gonna wear it though."
"No problem with that. As long as you keep it. It came straight from the heart." He mused, pounding his chest.
Rhajat held it tightly in her hand, which Corrin noticed. She knew Rhajat was trying to play it off, but this meant so much to her. She could see tears welling up in her eyes, but she hated looking weak. She wasn't going to point it out and embarrass her though.
Ann pulled on Rhajat's pants. "Are you crying?" Their daughter didn't seem to realize that they weren't supposed to do that.
Rhajat smiled at her. "No, it's just the sun getting in my eyes."
Hayato, seeing what was happening, decided to leave them alone. "We're going back home, follow when you guys are ready."
The duo left, and Rhajat let herself cry. Corrin kissed her cheek and wiped away her tears. Rhajat cleaned herself up, and Kana looked at her concerned. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"I'll be fine." Rhajat placed her hand on Kana's head. "Don't worry about me."
Now that she had pulled herself together, they went after the others. They arrived at their home, and Fuga was there waiting. He placed his hand on Rhajat's shoulder. "Another year older. You've become such a lovely young adult."
Rhajat was glad to see him. "I see you haven't bit the dust yet."
Fuga could only laugh in response. "I have a long time before I return to meet my maker."
"I can tell. You're very fit." Rhajat complimented.
"I'll get there someday!" Hayato interrupted. HIs ego was getting the better of him.
"Keep dreaming squirt." Rhajat teased.
Hayato wore his offense on his face. "I'm a grown man now! I'm taller than you in fact!"
"That's not much of an accomplishment." Rinkah snarked. The two glared at her, causing her to laugh. "You two are so similar."
"You truly are your father's daughter." Fuga added.
"Say, Grandma?" Ann began. "When are you gonna see the flame tribe again? And see our great grandpa?"
"Am I not good enough for you?" Fuga asked, feigning offense.
"Oh no! I didn't mean that!" Ann cried.
"Ha! Don't worry, I understand. You want to see all of your family. It's not a problem." Fuga nodded maturely.
"He was busy today." Rinkah explained. "But we can meet up soon. Just for you."
"Yay!" Ann cheered.
Fuga picked her and Kana up, and the two started to laugh. Kana looked downward realizing how high up he was. "You're so tall!"
"How did you get so tall and strong?!" Ann released a barrage of questions onto the older man.
"I'll handle these two, why don't you all rest for a bit?" Fuga ignored Ann for a second, but planned to answer all her questions soon enough. He was a very patient man.
Corrin smiled. "Yes, that's fine." They hear Ann trail off asking about what happened to his hair.
Rhajat sat down, and Corrin sat next to her. Rhajat laid her head down on her wife's shoulder. Corrin kissed the top of her head. Hayato couldn't help but smile once he saw how close the two were. "I'm glad you've been taking such good care of her Corrin."
"How are things in Valla?" Rinkah asked.
"They're going well. The people have really taken a liking to Rhajat. They like her so much that hexing has become a bit more common." Corrin explained. "We've been making sure it doesn't go too far though. It's mostly been things like good luck charms, and healing."
"It's a bit surprising, it's not even out of fear. But I wouldn't mind a country of people who were afraid of my power." Rhajat mused.
"That's just like you." Rinkah had a big smile on her face. "I'm happy that some things about you never change."
"I think I'm too old to change." Rhajat half joked. "I'm stuck in my ways."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Hayato didn't always understand his daughter, but now he can happily say he does.
"But anyway," Rhajat began. "That's not to say the hexes are being used only for good. I once saw a dog with a man's voice thanks to them."
Rinkah felt a bit of sweat drop down her head. "Those things sure are versatile huh? The kids know how to do that stuff too right?"
Corrin nodded. "They're still novices, but they've been doing some cool things too. They've been doing mostly children things like making bubbles out of thin air and the like."
Hayato felt a bit nostalgic for Rhajat's younger days. "Aww, that's adorable. They seem like good kids."
"They sure are." Corrin agreed. "They're our life. We love them so much."
"Any good mother would." Rinkah said as she looked at her daughter.
The day goes on as the family enjoys Rhajat's special day. They had more cake, and the kids had a bit too much, causing them to fall asleep early. Corrin and Rhajat soon joined them in slumber. They couldn't get many free days as queens of valla, but when they could, they truly enjoyed it. Family was something Rhajat never expected to be so important to her, but life was truly full of surprises.